This past week, we lost my grandmother at 83 years young. Through much of the visitation and funeral, I was able to keep my composure. At the cemetary, we carried her by my dad. This was by far the hardest thing I think I have ever done. I miss them both so much. There are no words nor to expressions that I could do or say to symbolize or translate the pain in losing a grandparent or a father. I thank God for the time I’ve had with them and know some day, in the future, we will meet again. For now, I will mourn the loss, miss them both dearly, and enjoy the gift of family that God has been gracious enough to give me.
Oma With Her Smile
Four Generations (Minus Me/Daddy)
Oma and Madelyn
In an effort to increase my overall physical fitness and lose some weight, I started running last fall. I took the program up a notch at the beginning of January by following the Body for Life eating plan. This workout and diet lifestyle plan has worked for me in the past, so I figured why not go back to what  works?
One of the things I did was to stop drinking any form of alcohol. I wasn’t a heavy drinker, but I did enjoy a beer or two a couple of times a week. Â Oddly, the nights I would have a beverage, one of the kids would have a horrible night resulting in a long morning the next day.
By cutting out the alcohol, mornings have seldom been difficult. The kids have also been doing well sleeping through the night.
Then… last night.
The temperature outside was too cold to run. Crystal and I had been contemplating a cheat night with the diet. After we put the kids to bed, I got dressed to hit the bike downstairs for a few miles. Â Five minutes after that, I was dressed in regular clothes and headed to the store (no workout).
When I returned, I had a caramel fudge brownie for my beautiful wife and a beverage (Bombay Sapphire) with a diet mixer for myself.
As I was half way through my second glass, it hit me. Â I hadn’t been drinking in a while and I was feeling pretty darn happy. Crystal was working on her grades and we were enjoying some great conversation. Couple time. The two of us.
We went to bed a little later than we normally would. By this point, both of the kids had been sleeping for a while.
Early morning, Gabby is screaming “MOMMY!” Gabby threw up all over her bed, mommy’s doing what she can to take care of Gabby, and daddy’s not waking up too well. I eventually woke up enough to help out, get Gabby dressed, and in bed with us for the rest of the night. (Brendan ended up sleeping until almost 8!)
I’m not saying it is because I had a beverage last night, but it sure made for another long morning.
Coincidence, or a little message from God? I am leaning toward latter.
Lesson learned.
Wow, I didn’t realize how long it has been since I have posted an update. Â For the long delay, I apologize. Â Things in our home have grown a bit more hectic. Â I (Scott) have returned to work with a less than spectacular schedule. Â Crystal is busy trying to keep up with Gabby while keeping Brendan calm, and the cats are appreciating any attention they can get.
Last week, before I left for work on Christmas Eve, we did have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas with my mother. Â It was a great time! Â All three grandchildren seemed to have a wonderful time playing with each other. Â There are quite a few new photos in the gallery, including a Christmas 2008 album. Â I will do my best to post more as time permits.
I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Christmas, and wish everyone a very happy New Year!
This week has been a crazy and interesting week. Â Gabby’s first chance at Trick-or-Treating in a neighborhood, our first African-American president was elected, and Brendan had his first bath.
The previous post talks about Halloween, so I’ll leave that out of this post. Â I’d just like to mention that Gabby is STILL eating her candy.
Last week, Brendan was introduced to his little bath tub. Â He took to it a bit better than Gabby did originally. Â After he gets over the shock of being naked and not cuddled up to us, he’s actually all right in the water. Â
Through all of this, Gabby has been more than willing to help clean her little brother! (although right now she’s battling a cold so we’re trying to keep a bit of distance between the two of them)
On election day, we took a family trip to vote. Â In our little town, there was no line to vote and it went rather quickly. Â Gabby was really happy that she got a sticker and proudly wore it. Â Daddy and Gabby also ended up in the MLive web site with the photos you will see below. Â
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A week of firsts and a lot of changes happening.  Gabby is getting bigger every day, our little Brendan is almost a month old, and our government will soon not look anything like it did last week.  Change is good!
Trick-or-treat. Â That’s what Gabby woke up saying. Â The first thing she asked me when I got her out of her crib was, “When can we put on our costumes and go trick-or-treating?” Â She had a blast.
It was a longer day for the family. Â We went to Grand Haven to visit with Crystal’s cousins who were in town for a family emergency. Â While in town, Don, Dustin, and I went up to deer camp to clear out our blinds and get ready for deer season in a couple of weeks. Â
In order to keep things from being too crazy and risk Gabby missing her trick-or-treating, we decided to stay in Grand Haven for the candy getting. Â
Her pumpkin ended the night very full. Â We had a blast watching her walk up to the houses and saying “Trick-or-treat.” Â We had practiced what to say so much that she forgot to say thank you as we were leaving; all she would say was, “Trick-or-treat!”
